Pancho Villa, a Century of Corridos: From the Mexican Revolution to Violent Mexico

Abstract

This article presents a panorama of corridos (ballads) concerning the revolutionary Pancho Villa, from those originally written during the Mexican Revolution through those of the twenty-first century corresponding to the Movimiento Alterado. Its aim is to consider these corridos as a tradition through which we can trace the evolution of Villa’s historical and political status: rebel, guerrilla fighter, and official hero. The corridos reveal the difficulty in cataloging Villa and the permanent tension surrounding the construction of his public image. The text includes a brief anthology of the most important or best known villista corridos. Finally, it analyzes Villa’s presence in today’s narcocorrido.
Keywords: Pancho Villa, Mexican Revolution, Mexican corrido, narcocorrido, Movimiento Alterado